Is Saban's big deal really such a BIG deal? Not exactly

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Here's what won't happen when Nick Saban actually signs his name to that outlandish contract at Alabama:

College sports won't go morally and financially bankrupt. In case you haven't noticed, we passed those signposts long ago.

Saban's $4 million-per-year deal with 'Bama is a tiny pebble thrown in a raging, um, Tide.

You can also look at it this way: Nick Saban and 'Bama deserve each other. (AP)

The easy column to write today is that the contract will set a new, higher bar for coaching salaries, that college sports has been corrupted by the almighty dollar.

No. 1: Why do you care? You keep paying for tickets, it's the school's money and it can do with it what it wants.

No. 2: There's no bar to raise. Mostly, because we're already there. USA Today reported recently that by June, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz will cash checks totaling $4.6 million over a 13-month period. Bob Stoops reportedly is making $3.45 million.

You want outrage? Louisville's Bobby Petrino won his first major bowl game Tuesday night. He's making $2.5 million per over the next decade.

At least Saban has won a national championship, which makes him worth every penny of that guaranteed money -- to Alabama. The two deserve each other. Each knows that in three, maybe four years, Saban will be gone anyway. The coach will have either won a national championship or be driven out because he didn't.

As long as we're all clear on this, what's the big deal?

There are only a handful of college coaches who can walk into the AD's office today and demand a raise based on Saban's move. One of them is here in Phoenix. If Jim Tressel wins his second national championship in five years, then back up the truck.

You can count the others who have won titles on both hands: Stoops, Bowden, Spurrier, Carroll, Carr, Paterno, Fulmer, Brown. That's about it. Let the likes of Tommy Tuberville walk into his AD's office today and ask for a raise. Wait, I have the reply scripted:

Exactly how many national championships have you won here Tommy? How many NFL teams have you coached?

Tuscaloosa's Twosome is a unique pair. One is 'Bama itself, a freak show full of shadowy characters and unrealistic expectations, looked down upon from above by a legend. And back on earth by his son, Paul Bryant Jr.